The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chase for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Last month, interest rates reached the psychological 4% barrier for the first time since November 2014 and there is speculation that they will ...

Thanks to two home purchases and refinancing my mortgage five times, I've become very familiar with that eternal home loan enigma known as the mortgage junk fee. As a result, I always challenge the more questionable junk fees -- and you should ...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chase Mortgage Banking. All opinions are 100% mine.
Owning a home has always been a big part of the American Dream. In fact, with the wide variety of homes on the market and interest rates still ...

The vast majority of homes that are being marketed for sale have to provide a home report as part of the selling process, in order to comply with current legislation.
The home report is actually three documents which are combined to create a ...

Today, almost everyone understands that the last recession had its roots in domestic mortgage borrowing. Many home loans were effectively toxic and were almost completely dependent upon the increase in real estate values providing lenders with their ...

I love this time of year because the Girl Scouts are out selling their cookies. Of course, that means they'll soon be knocking on my door -- and I'll once again spend 10 minutes agonizing between the Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos and Caramel deLites before ...

When it comes to the great mortgage debate, I've already explained my position regarding 15- and 30-year loans: 30-year loans are better for a multitude of reasons. In fact, I think it's a no-brainer.
I remember when I bought my first home in ...

With Bank of England Governor Mark Carney indicating that interest rates may increase by up to 3% over the next few years, homeowners with adjustable rate loans should be thinking about how this would impact their monthly payments.
Recent research ...

I've had numerous people come to my house offering "great deals" on home repair services over the years.
You know the type. Most of these guys wouldn't know what a contractor's license looked like if it hit them in the head.
One hustler knocked ...

So in light of the Federal deficit, devaluation of the dollar, lack of jobs, etc., what's your view of U.S. Savings Bonds these days? I have some, and can't find anyone talking about whether they're still a good investment. Yes, they earn relatively ...

According to a recent study carried out be high street lender Halifax, the cost of owning a home as a first-time buyer is now nearly GBP 1,300 a year less than if you were renting.
Although you might argue that a mortgage lender would have a ...

Cosigning for a loan is one of the dumbest financial moves you could ever make. By cosigning, you not only assume liability for the borrowed money, but you also make it tougher on yourself to qualify for large loans -- regardless of your payment ...

I have been doing financial research and would love your opinion. I am a young stay at home mom, and my husband just graduated from college. He got a great job within a few months of graduating, and we are looking toward buying a home. His job, also ...

When playing Monopoly, the conventional wisdom is that the best property to own is Boardwalk because it commands the highest rent. However, savvy players know the most valuable property is actually Illinois Avenue. How can that be? Well, one of the ...

Buying a home is always a stressful time and you're going to want to make sure you have the funds for closing on your dream property.
The best way of making sure your funds are in place to transfer when your house purchase closes is to follow the ...

Nearly everyone dreams of being a homeowner someday. Others may want to build income through investment properties. However, in reality, obtaining real estate isn't all that simple because in real life, even the least expensive homes cost quite a bit ...

A couple of weeks ago, I received a question from Lauren regarding the wisdom of paying down the mortgage early:
Len: We've been working to pay off our mortgage ASAP so we have a roof over our heads if (when) inflation hits. Should we should ...

The other day the Honeybee and I were watching the two-millionth episode of House Hunters when the featured owners of a condo who were trying to sell their place got some chilling news from their real estate agent: First, their outdated kitchen's ...

This weekend my friend and I got into a discussion regarding the housing market; he was wondering whether current prices were still cheap enough to justify taking the plunge and buying a new home.
"It's a good question," I told him, "We could ask ...

As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) eases norms on non-resident Indians (NRI) investing in property in India, more and more of them are now looking to invest in their homeland. It is not just a nostalgic, romantic attachment. With the depreciating ...

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